An anatomy, such as a human anatomy, includes various articulations, soft tissues, and hard tissues to perform various functions. Generally, these functions are carried out pain-free and with a substantial range of motion. Nevertheless, various functions may deteriorate over time as soft tissue or hard tissue deteriorates and articulations deteriorate. At a selected time, various portions of the anatomy may be replaced with artificial portions to restore substantially normal or anatomical motion and functionality.
For example, the articulation of the humerus with the glenoid (the glenohumeral or shoulder joint) may deteriorate. The humeral head or the glenoid may deteriorate and become rough or lose their anatomical shapes and reduce motion, increase pain, or the like. This may happen for various reasons, such as injury, disease, or lack of motion. This may lead to replacement of the selected portions of the anatomy with a prosthesis to achieve a substantially normal or anatomical range of motion.
Although it is known to replace various portions of the anatomy, such as a humeral head and a glenoid, many procedures generally require large incisions through soft tissue. Further, various procedures require that many muscle and muscle attachments be cut to achieve access to selected portions of the anatomy. Although it may be selected or necessary to perform many procedures in this manner, it may also be desirable to achieve a less invasive procedure.
Further areas of applicability of the present teachings will become apparent from the description provided hereinafter. It should be understood that the description and various examples, while indicating various embodiments, are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the teachings.